Week 11 Fantasy Hockey Planner

A few Fantasy mainstays will be sidelined for the upcoming scoring period while a few others will be returning to action. Our Michael Hurcomb runs through all of the latest news and information in his Fantasy Planner.

Atlantic Division

New Jersey Devils: Defenseman Andy Greene
continues to put on a show from the Devils' blue line. He had his second
career two-goal game on Wednesday against the Hurricanes (his first was
in the minors in 2006). He has eight points in his last eight games and
17 points (five goals) for the season.N.Y. Islanders: Goalie Rick DiPietro, who has been out all season recovering from knee
surgery, is expected to end a rehab stint with Bridgeport (AHL) on
Tuesday. It is not sure what the Islanders' plans are after that, but
DiPietro is still not a recommended start for Week 11. However, now is
the time to start adding him in Fantasy ... Rookie center John Tavares had the first stretch of back-to-back multi-goal games
in his career as he scored twice on Tuesday against Philadelphia and
then twice again on Wednesday against Toronto. He leads all rookies with
15 goals ... Rob Schremp, a former
first-round pick, thought a fresh start with the Islanders would be his
breakthrough avenue to the NHL. It hasn't worked out that way. Schremp
has played in only nine games with New York and was a healthy scratch
for 11 straight contests before dressing for an injured forward
Wednesday ... Kyle Okposo hasn't scored
in 11 games. However, he does have three two-assist performances in four
December games.N.Y. Rangers: Center Brandon Dubinsky, who has been out with a broken wrist, practiced with
the Rangers on Friday. He is still wearing a cast, but he is nearing a
return. Dubinsky could return in Week 11, but he remains a risky start
... Rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy
earned a ticket to Hartford of the AHL on Thursday. Gilroy hasn't quite
made the impact New York had been looking for since he made the team out
of training camp. His playing time was starting to decline, so New York
sent him to the minors to work on his game and confidence ... Coach John
Tortorella has had a few conversations with Sean Avery about returning to his pesky ways, and since the agitator
has turned it up a bit since late November, Tortorella rewarded Avery by
promoting him to the top line with Marian Gaborik
and Vaclav Prospal ... Defenseman Wade Redden is back from a five-game absence because of a shoulder
injury ... Christopher Higgins has two
goals in his last three games after going 10 contests without a score.Philadelphia
Flyers: The Flyers learned on Tuesday that starting goalie Ray Emery will miss six weeks recovering from abdomen surgery. Brian Boucher has taken over the starting goalie responsibilities
with overseas import Johan Backlund
pulling backup duty. Although, rumors are flying rampant that
Philadelphia could be interested in trading for former backup Antero Niittymaki or one of the Thrashers' two goalies -- Ondrej Pavelec or Johan Hedberg --
with Kari Lehtonen close to the comeback
trail ... Center Mike Richards injured
his wrist on Thursday against the Senators, but the X-rays came back
clean and he is a low-risk start for Week 11 ... Defenseman Oskars Bartulis has impressed Flyers management enough that he has
earned a spot on the team's blue line and is now regularly playing
alongside Ryan Parent. Bartulis has the
skills to play at both ends of the ice, but he is a better passer than
scorer ... Daniel Carcillo will return
from a four-game suspension on Monday against the Bruins, so keep him
active in leagues that reward heavily for PIM ... Simon Gagne (hernia surgery) has been practicing with the Flyers and
is eyeing a return during the latter stages of Week 11. He remains a
risky start for the upcoming scoring period, but now is the time to
start adding him in Fantasy.Pittsburgh Penguins: Defenseman Alex Goligoski returned from a lower-body injury on Thursday against
the Canadiens. The Penguins are now just waiting on Chris Kunitz (lower body) before being back at full strength. He has
been skating with the team and is believed to be close to returning. If
he is not back by the weekend, he can still be considered a low-risk
start for Week 11... Bill Guerin is a
surprising third on the team with 20 points. He has four goals and six
assists in his last 13 games.Favorable matchup: N.Y. Rangers (ATL,
NYI, @NYI, @PHI). The Rangers just have the feel of one of those
teams mired in a slump for so long that they are ready to breakout. It
definitely could come in Week 11 as all three of their opponents are
allowing 2.83 or more goals per contest.Unfavorable matchup:
Philadelphia (@BOS, @PIT, PIT, NYR). The Flyers have scored more
than two goals just once in four games since Peter Laviolette took over
behind the bench. It could be more tough times ahead in Week 11. Boston
and Pittsburgh are both in the top 10 for defense and the Rangers have
allowed a total of six goals in their first three December contests.

Northeast Division

Boston Bruins: Mark Recchi has
three goals in his last two games after scoring once in his previous 12
contests ... Center Patrice Bergeron has
one goal and five assists in his last four games ... Marco Sturm has three goals and five points in his last four games
... Defenseman Zdeno Chara has one goal
and five assists in his last five outings.Buffalo Sabres: Center
Tim Connolly is battling some hip
soreness, but he continues to remain active for Buffalo. It is worth
noting since Connolly underwent hip surgery a few years back.Montreal
Canadiens: The news keeps getting better and better for defenseman Andrei Markov, who has been out since opening night with an ankle
injury. He actually practiced on Wednesday for the first time since the
injury. Markov is aiming for a January return, but maybe he could be
back even sooner ... There are rumors surfacing that the Canadiens are
actively shopping backup goalie Jaroslav Halak,
who will be a restricted free agent next summer ... Mike Cammalleri has five goals and one assist during a four-game
point streak ... Center Tomas Plekanec
continues to lead the team with 25 assists and 31 points. He is only
eight points away from tying his season total from 2008-09.Ottawa
Senators: Goalie Pascal Leclaire
(cheekbone) is nearing a return and could play toward the end of Week
11. Brian Elliott is probably still the
safer play for Fantasy owners, but now is the time to start scooping up
Leclaire in Fantasy ... Veteran forward Daniel Alfredsson turned 37 on Friday. He leads Ottawa with 28 points,
but the Swedish forward has only scored four goals in his last 18 games.Toronto
Maple Leafs: Goalie Jonas Gustavsson
(heart) returned to practice on Friday. He is hoping to make a quick
return to the ice and could be back in Week 11 since undergoing a second
procedure on his heart since the summer. However, The Monster is still a
risky start for the upcoming scoring period ... Niklas Hagman has one goal and five assists during a five-game point
streak. He continues to pile on the points. Hagman has been one of the
NHL's hottest players since mid-November with nine goals and 14 points
in his last 13 games ... Jason Blake has
three goals and two assists in his last five games.Favorable
matchup: Buffalo (@MON, @OTT, TOR, PIT). Buffalo faces three
teams -- Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto -- allowing 2.78 or more goals per
game. The Sabres are also averaging 3.00 or more goals against each of
those opponents this season.Unfavorable matchup: Toronto (OTT,
PHO, @BUF, BOS). Give the Maple Leafs some credit. They have been
playing very well over the last few weeks. They have won six of their
last nine games and have scored three or more goals in each victory.
Unfortunately, their good times could hit a roadblock in Week 11.
Toronto is about to face the three of the top five defenses in the NHL.
They are Buffalo (2.21 GAA), Phoenix (2.26) and Boston (2.33). They are
also averaging 2.00 or fewer goals against their three Eastern
Conference opponents.

Atlanta Thrashers: Trying to ignite some slumping players, coach
John Anderson tweaked his second and third lines on Thursday against the
Canucks. He moved Evander Kane to the
second line with Todd White and Bryan Little. Kane and Little failed to score, but they combined for
seven shots. Slava Kozlov was dropped to
the third line with Rich Peverley and Colby Armstrong ... All-Star forward Ilya Kovalchuk is letting his emotions spill out onto the ice during
a prolonged scoring slump. Kovalchuk has only scored four times in his
last 13 games and has racked up 33 penalty minutes in that span,
including a pair of game misconducts.Carolina Hurricanes: Erik Cole is expected to miss a few weeks with an upper-body injury
... Goalie Cam Ward has returned to the
lineup after missing 13 games with a leg laceration. Coach Paul Maurice
is usually cautious with players once they return from injury, but we
expect him to play Ward as much as possible. Feel free to activate Ward
for Week 11 ... It seems Rod Brind'Amour's
banishment to the fourth line is a permanent move. Once considered a top
defensive forward, Brind'Amour has a league worst minus-19 rating and is
minus-42 since last season. He has had some real troubles since
returning from a torn ACL last year and is no longer a safe Fantasy
start ... Sergei Samsonov was banished to
the press box on Wednesday against the Devils after playing in the first
29 games. He hasn't produced much this season (10 points, minus-11), so
the benching isn't a surprise.Florida Panthers: Defenseman Ville Koistinen has cleared re-entry waivers and will remain at
Rochester of the AHL until Florida needs a body because of an injury.Tampa
Bay Lightning: The Lightning's top two scorers -- Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone -- were
hurt in Wednesday's loss to the Oilers, but both injuries were far less
serious than first thought. Malone (lower body) and Stamkos (upper body)
dressed on Friday against Colorado, so keep them active for Week 11 ...
Rookie defenseman Victor Hedman has
scored twice in his last three games after going the first 27 games with
a goal ... After getting hot in the first few weeks of November, forward Alex Tanguay is once again mired in a slump. He has no goals and one
point in his last six games. In fact, he hasn't scored in 12 appearances.Washington
Capitals: Mike Knuble (broken finger)
returned to action on Friday against Carolina despite not being 100
percent. It's safe to play him in Fantasy, if you choose, but there are
some concerns how well he will perform since he is not fully recovered
... Goalie Semyon Varlamov (lower body)
is on injured reserve and not expected back until at least Dec. 23. Keep
him reserved for Week 11 and consider starting Jose Theodore for the upcoming scoring period as a No. 2 Fantasy
goalie.Favorable matchup: Florida (@NYI, ATL, CAR, @CAR).
The Panthers are mired in a scoring funk again, having lit the lamp only
five times in their last four games. But they could definitely take out
some frustrations in Week 11. All three of their opponents are allowing
2.86 or more goals per contest.Unfavorable matchup: Tampa Bay (@NSH,
@DET, @STL). Tampa Bay is another team mired in a scoring drought.
They are averaging just 1.8 goals per game in five December contests.
But unlike Florida, their struggles might continue in Week 11. All three
of Tampa Bay's opponents are allowing 2.71 or fewer goals per game. The
Lightning also have to go on the road where they are averaging only 2.20
goals per game (24th).

Central Division

Chicago Blackhawks: Center Jonathan Toews
has scored in four of his last five games. He has bounced back well
since suffering a concussion earlier this season. Toews has totaled
seven goals (five power play) and 13 points in his last 14 games.Columbus
Blue Jackets: Raffi Torres has six
of his 10 goals on the power play ... Goalie Steve Mason finally had his first shutout of the season on Wednesday
against the Panthers. It took him 24 games to get it after Mason had a
NHL-high 10 shutouts in 61 games last season as a rookie ... Rick Nash had his first goal in six games on Thursday against the
Predators. Nash has been in a bit of a scoring funk lately with only
three goals in his last 13 games.Detroit Red Wings: Detroit's
2009-10 injury woes continued when forward Daniel Cleary went down Wednesday with a separated shoulder. He is
expected to miss four weeks. Detroit is already without Niklas Kronwall (leg), Valtteri Filppula
(wrist), Jason Williams (ankle) and Johan Franzen (knee) ... Coach Mike Babcock continues to show some
tough love toward struggling forward Ville Leino.
He sat the 26-year-old forward for two games before returning him to the
lineup on Friday against the Ducks. Leino has scored only three times in
his first 27 games this season after scoring five times in his first 13
games with Detroit last season.Nashville Predators: Jordin Tootoo is enjoying the most productive stretch of his career.
He has seven points (one goal) in his last 10 games ... Now that he is
healthy, top-line center Jason Arnott is
playing up to his Fantasy potential. He has 14 points (eight goals) in
his last 12 games.St. Louis Blues: Brad Boyes is starting to display a scoring touch again after
getting off to a very sluggish start. He has scored six times in his
last 14 games after scoring twice in his first 15 appearances ... Andy McDonald, on the other hand, is showing no scoring touch.
McDonald hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 10 -- a stretch of 13 games. He
has just four assists in that span.Favorable matchup:
Nashville (@CLB, TB, @EDM, @CGY). The Central Division has a lot
of bad matchups for Fantasy owners in Week 11, but Nashville is one of
the teams that has a little ray of sunshine. Calgary is the only defense
they will face ranked in the top half of the league. Nashville is also
on the road for three games, where they do a decent job of scoring
goals. They rank 13th in road GFA (2.64).Unfavorable matchup:
St. Louis (CGY, @CHI, TB). It doesn't bode well for the 29th
ranked offense (2.34 GFA) to have to face a pair of top five defenses in
Chicago (2.14 GAA) and Calgary (2.33) during the upcoming scoring period.

Northwest Division

Calgary Flames: Left wing Nigel Dawes
moved to the top line with Jarome Iginla
and Olli Jokinen on Wednesday against the
Thrashers and scored his ninth goal of the season. Dawes has five goals
in his last eight games and has been one of the team's best goal scorers
the last few weeks ... Iginla hasn't been as good scoring, with only one
goal in his last eight games. However, he does have eight assists in
that span and is still finding ways to be productive ... Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff is arguably having one of the best runs of his
career. He hasn't allowed more than two goals in his last nine starts
and has allowed only 10 goals total in that span.Colorado
Avalanche: Goalie Craig Anderson
returned to action on Friday against the Lightning after missing four
games with a neck injury. As good as Peter Budaj
was in Anderson's absence, the Florida Panthers transplant should return
to full-time work and can be considered a safe start for Week 11 ... Ryan O'Reilly has hit a rookie wall after a hot start to his career.
He has gone nine games without a point and has no goals and two assists
in his past 16 appearances ... Fellow rookie Matt Duchene is going the opposite way after slumping from late
October through mid-November. He now has six goals and three assists in
his last eight games.Edmonton Oilers: Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has only improved marginally from a back injury that
has kept him out since late November, so don't plan on activating him
for Week 11. Continue to use Jeff Deslauriers
as a stopgap Fantasy option ... Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov is close to returning from a knee injury that has
kept him out since mid-November. He is off injured reserve, so consider
him a low-risk start for Week 11.Minnesota Wild: Defenseman Brent Burns is expected to be out until at least January with a
concussion ... As expected, Mikko Koivu
is thriving in Todd Richards' forechecking system. He has six goals and
18 points in his last 14 games. He is up to 30 points on the season.
Under former coach Jacques Lemaire, the center usually had to play
between or above the offensive-zone faceoff circles to recover
defensively. Under Richards, the center is allowed to forecheck
aggressively ... Left wing Andrew Brunette
has a team-high 10 goals. He has scored only once over his last five
games, but has seven assists in that span.Vancouver Canucks: Defenseman
Alexander Edler is expected to miss two
weeks because of a left arm injury suffered Tuesday against the
Predators. Mathieu Schneider is expected
to dress regularly in Edler's absence ... Top-line center Henrik Sedin has managed two assists in all five of his December games
and six of his last seven appearances ... Daniel Sedin had a hat trick Wednesday against the Thrashers and has
five goals and four assists in five December games. He is definitely
back to 100 percent after missing several weeks with a broken foot ...
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff is plus-10
his last 11 games and plus-16 this season, sitting second overall in the
NHL behind New Jersey's Zach Parise (plus-18).Favorable matchup:
Vancouver (LA, ANA, WAS, STL). The Canucks love playing at
General Motors Place, so they will find it comforting they don't have to
leave their home ice once during Week 11. The Canucks are second in home
GFA (3.53), trailing only Washington (3.71).Unfavorable matchup:
Calgary (@STL, LA, NSH). Unlike the Central Division, the
Northwest has a lot of favorable matchups in Week 11. Calgary is one of
the few teams that could face a tough challenge scoring goals. They face
two top 15 defenses in St. Louis (2.55 GAA) and Calgary (2.71).

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks: Joffrey Lupul
recently returned from a back injury that kept him out seven games, but
he finds himself back on the day-to-day watch because of numbness in his
leg. This is a bad time for him to be dealing with an injury since Teemu Selanne is out several weeks with a broken hand ... Dan Sexton was recalled from the minors when Selanne went on
injured reserve. He is making the most of his opportunities with three
goals in his first four games. Sexton also took an Anaheim rookie record
nine shots on Tuesday against the Stars as he scored twice in a 4-3 win
... Center Saku Koivu has scored in two
straight games and three of five.Dallas Stars: James Neal looks to be emerging from a slump. He has two goals and
two assists in his first three December games after going the final five
November games without a point ... Prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy made a brief appearance with the Stars earlier this
week as Dallas needed a fresh body because of injury. But Vishnevskiy
played only one game before getting demoted to the minors. He remains a
long-term Fantasy keeper.Los Angeles Kings: Coach Terry
Murray said there is maybe a chance injured forward Ryan Smyth (upper body) will return during a three-game road trip
that starts on Monday against the Canucks. However, Smyth is still a
risky start for Week 11. Murray wants to keep Smyth out as long as
possible to make sure he is 100 percent and it's not like Los Angeles is
losing in his absence ... Center Jarret Stoll
has three goals and four assists during a six-game point streak to open
up December ... Defenseman Jack Johnson
is having one of the better offensive runs of his career with one goal
and six assists in his last six games. Phoenix Coyotes: Defenseman
Ed Jovanovski is eligible to return from
a two-game suspension on Monday against the Red Wings, so feel free to
keep him active for Week 11 ... Scottie Upshall
leads the Coyotes with nine goals. He has 11 points (six goals) in his
last 17 games ... Defenseman Keith Yandle
is day to day with a foot injury.San Jose Sharks: Ryane Clowe has five goals and 12 points during a career-high 10-game
point streak that started on Nov. 17 ... Devin Setoguchi hasn't been as fortunate. He has no points in five
games since returning from a leg injury and has no points in his last
eight contests.Favorable matchup: Dallas (@CAR, @ATL, DET).
The Pacific Division has a lot of tough matchups in Week 11, but Dallas
gets to take a break from the rigors of Western Conference competition
to play a pair of games against two Eastern Conference foes -- Carolina
and Atlanta. It just happens to be that Carolina is last in defense
(3.53 GAA) and Atlanta is also near the bottom of the league (2.86).Unfavorable
matchup: Anaheim (@VAN, @SJ, PHO). The Ducks wrap up a
four-game road trip in Week 11 against two of the toughest defenses in
the NHL -- Vancouver (2.61 GAA) and San Jose (2.59). Then, they get to
play at home, but have to face Phoenix, who are fourth in GAA (2.26).
They are averaging 2.67 or fewer goals per game against San Jose and
Phoenix.

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